Speak of the Devil
by Sparx615
Summary: Mark Cooper's life is already a mess. He just got out of prison, his beloved brother has gone missing, and now he has to pick up the pieces. But more trouble is on it's way in the form of pure evil in a physical form. Who is Darkrai, and what is he up to?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

A shadow darted across the city, hardly visible in the darkness of the night. The shape was quick, a blur across the pavement, and seemed to move aimlessly through the streets. A brightly coloured figure followed behind, in pursuit, and was rapidly gaining on the fleeing creature.

Presently the shadow rounded a corner and bolted down an alley, only to be met with the tall wall of a building at the end. It was about to run into the wall, but before it could, the other creature fired a ball of energy, striking the shadow dead in its centre. The shadow made a sound like a cry of pain, and suddenly a solid being erupted from it.

Now a ghost-like individual was lying where the shadow had been. It was totally black except for a plume of white smoke that flowed from its head, and its glaring blue eyes.

Before the other figure- clearly visible now as a small, pink, cat-like Pokèmon, also with blue eyes- could attack again, the dark creature waved its arm, creating multiple pulses of negative energy that slammed into the pink Pokèmon, causing it to fly into the side of the alley.

"Give it up, Mew, I'm free now!" laughed the shadowy Pokèmon. "You can't stop me."

"I will not let you terrorize this world, Darkrai!" replied the one called Mew with a scowl, charging up another Aura Sphere to throw at his enemy. Darkrai was faster, pinning Mew by the throat with one of his claws. Mew gasped in pain.

"Go back to Arceus and tell her that I will no longer be held prisoner. I have the power; I will do what I want with this world. I will reclaim my crown." hissed the dark Pokèmon.

Mew narrowed his eyes at Darkrai. "There's a reason Arceus stripped you of your authority."

"Arceus is no longer my keeper."

That said, Darkrai tightened his hold on Mew's throat. The cat squeaked as his breath was cut off, but his panic soon faded as his eyes glazed over and closed. Smirking inwardly, Darkrai dropped his victim and let him crash to the ground.

"Sweet dreams," he chuckled, melting into the shadows and leaving Mew writhing in pain on the ground.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"Alright, Sparks, let's try a thunder punch!"

The Pikachu was already running toward his opponent, his entire body crackling with a powerful electrical charge. The big red-and-white furball was only a yard away now… two feet… a few inches… Springing into the air, the yellow mouse drew his fist back and was about to punch the Zangoose hard in the face, but the mongoose ducked and slashed the Pikachu along the belly with its sharp claws.

"Good job, Dæmon! Now use double kick!"

Without hesitation the Zangoose obeyed, cocking up a leg and kicking the Pikachu twice while he was still in the air, sending the rodent flying. The Pikachu grunted as he landed hard on the stone ground, the wind knocked from his lungs.

"Don't give up, Sparky, you can do it!"

It took the Pikachu a few seconds to recover, by which time the Zangoose had already closed the distance between them. Having no time to get to his feet, the mouse released a bolt of electricity from his cheeks, zapping his opponent. The mongoose flinched, giving the Pikachu time to leap up and slam his tail on the top of the other Pokémon's head. The Zangoose crashed to the ground, knocked unconscious by the critical hit.

"No! Dammit! Dæmon… Ugh, return!" cried the Zangoose's trainer, holding out a pokèball to recall his defeated Pokèmon.

"That was a close one, Sparky." said the other trainer, lifting his Pikachu into his arms and resting the mouse on his shoulder. Sparky yawned widely in reply and flicked his master's shaggy blonde hair with his tail.

"I guess you win, Mark. Here." mumbled the other man, placing some money in the Pikachu trainer's hand before turning to leave. "Call me up the next time you want to battle. 'Cause next time, I'll beat you!"

"Whatever you say, man," Mark called after him with a laugh, plopping down into a nearby bench. He didn't like to sit, but his feet were killing him from standing up all day. Sparky was worse for wear; his longish fur was a messy and dirty, his green eyes dull from exhaustion. A trip to the Pokèmon Centre was definitely called for, but it could wait until the two had caught their breath.

"We're outta shape, buddy." said Mark to his Pokèmon, scratching the Pikachu behind the ear with a gloved hand. "We've been out of commission for too long. But we're getting better."

Sparky nodded in agreement. Smiling, Mark slouched in his seat and closed his eyes.

Today had been a good day. Mark and Sparky had been travelling all over Lilycove, Hoenn and battling as many trainers as they could. They had lost a lot, but their win streak was rising. Not bad at all, considering this was their first week of battling after two years out of the game.

Mark didn't like to think about the past, though. The past made him shudder. So much had happened; he had screwed up so many times… There was so much he regretted. But he couldn't change any of it, so there was no point in reflecting upon it and making himself feel bad. But still…

_Jamie…_

"Pika," said Sparky, nudging his trainer. The Pikachu always knew when Mark was worrying, and he was always there to snap his friend out of it. Well, that is, he had always been there, and was always there now. That two year gap had been like hell…

"Let's go get you healed up, okay?" Mark smiled and stood up, stretching briefly before turning and walking toward the nearest Pokèmon Centre. All that mattered was the present, anyway. _What's that saying? _There's no use in crying over spilt milk.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, Mark made his way through the city. The streets were a bit crowded now that he was back in the main part of Lilycove; trainers, residents, tourists, coordinators- especially coordinators; there was a lot of talk about a contest coming up or something. Battles were much more exciting.

The Pokèmon Centre was in sight. Just a few stairs, a couple yards of walking, and the duo could rest up properly.

"Hey, Cooper!"

Mark was about to cry out in surprise when somebody suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the crowd and into an alley, but a hand was clamped over his mouth to keep him quiet. Sparks flew from Sparky's cheeks, and he turned to attack, but stopped when he saw who the assailant was.

"You're such a spaz! Calm down!" hissed a woman's voice in the man's ear as he was pulled into the shadows.

"H-heather?!" Mark gasped, managing to calm his nerves. "Do you have to give me a heart attack every time you want to talk to me?"

The woman giggled and released Mark so he could turn to face her. She was tall for a girl, very shapely, with straight brown hair pulled back in a ponytail that fell to the small of her back. On the breast of her fur-rimmed jacket was a familiar insignia shaped like an 'A'.

"Like I told you, you're just a spaz." she said with a smirk.

"Whatever. You're still in Aqua?" Mark frowned disapprovingly.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told you yesterday. I'm not going to turn myself in and spend Arceus-knows-how-long in prison just because you think crime's not worth it." Heather replied with a flip of her hair.

"Well, when they catch you, don't come crying to me. Anyway, did you find anything out yet?"

"About little Jamie? Nope. There's no sign of him in all of Hoenn."

Mark slumped visibly, worry clouding his hazel eyes. Sparky pat him on the head with his tail. This wasn't good. It had only been a few days since Mark had found out that his little brother, James, had disappeared without a trace. How long had the poor kid been gone? A year?

"Maybe if you hadn't been in jail for so long he wouldn't have vanished," suggested Heather, reading Mark's mind. "If you had stayed with Aqua, you could've helped us take down Magma and we could've saved Jamie. But nooo, you had a _'change of heart'._"

"I didn't have much of a choice!" the man shot back. "Besides, I doubt I would've made much of a difference. Magma's too strong."

"Water will always beat fire, Cooper! We just need more people!"

"It's not going to wo- _ow!_" Mark was cut off as Sparky discharged a small amount of electricity into his trainer's body without warning. "Dammit, Sparks, what is it?!"

"Pikapi!" declared the Pikachu, leaping from Mark's shoulder to Heather's before jumping to the ground. He waited to make sure he had the humans' attention before turning and running further down the alley.

"What's wrong with him?" Heather demanded irritably as Mark followed Sparky. With an annoyed sigh, she went after them.

Sparky darted down the alley, ears and nose twitching. Mark and Heather followed at his heels, the latter looking less than amused. Finally, the Pikachu came to a stop at the dead end. He paused, then slowly approached a small shape that was lying in the corner. When Sparky gently prodded it, it shivered and let out a pained squeak.

"What is that?" asked Heather, wrinkling her nose.

"I think it's a Pokèmon," said Mark, crouching down at Sparky's side to examine the creature. It was curled into a tight ball and shaking, its eyes squeezed shut. Mark's eyes widened as he realized what he was looking at. "It's…"

"Mew!" Heather exclaimed, rushing over and lifting the pink cat into her arms. "It's Mew! No way! This is amazing! I can take him to Archie and then-"

"He's _hurt_, idiot!" Mark snapped, snatching Mew from her. "If you take him to Aqua they'll give him to the scientists or something!"

"So what?! Everyone would love me! Think of how much money I'd get for bringing him in!"

"Find a heart, will you?" The man turned away and looked the quivering Pokèmon over. He didn't look too beaten, just unconscious… "I'll take him to the Pokèmon Centre."

"What?! B-but what about _me?_" cried Heather. She looked honestly offended by Mark's statement. Sparky shot a glare at her before his trainer could, making her shut her mouth.

"Think of it this way. By not helping a legendary you're pissing Arceus off and nothing good will ever happen to you again." Mark told her, hoping that would make her back off. He didn't really believe in gods or anything all-powerful like that, but Heather on the other hand was a bit superstitious. Messing with the legends and invoking the wrath of one of the 'gods' was definitely not on her agenda.

She turned a little pale. "O-oh. Yeah, you're probably right. But still. Actually, you know what, whatever. You do what you want. I have work to do." With that, the woman turned and quickly left the alleyway.

Mark sighed, relieved that he had gotten rid of the nuisance. Heather might be helping him find his brother, but she was so self-centred and obnoxious it drove him crazy to be around her for too long.

Mew twitched. Mark frowned down at the little Pokèmon. What could have happened to him? His pink fur was messier than Sparky's, and coated in dirt. How long had he been lying in the alley? He wasn't waking up, either. He just lay tense in Mark's arms, shivering and occasionally crying out as though in pain.

"C'mon, Sparky, let's hurry." said Mark. The Pikachu nodded and climbed back onto his trainer's shoulder. Mark made sure Mew was secure in his arms before heading back the way he had come.

It only took him a moment to reach the Pokèmon Centre. He opened the doors with his shoulder, as his arms were full, and hurried to the front desk. The nurse was just returning a smiling Azurill to a young girl when Mark slowed to a stop at the counter and stooped over to catch his breath.

"Oh! Are you alright?" the nurse asked in surprise. Mark looked up, and he saw her features fall. He got that a lot. His face wasn't one people were comfortable seeing, for multiple reasons. That didn't matter right now, though.

"I found this Pokèmon on my way here. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's hurt." Mark told her, setting Mew carefully on the desk. The nurse gasped.

"Is that Mew?!"

The trainer nodded. "I don't know what happened. I just found him. Please help."

The nurse picked Mew up and passed him off to a Chansey that was waiting with a miniature stretcher. The Chansey looked Mew over quickly before rushing off into the back room. Mark watched them go, glad there weren't any alarms going off to say the Pokèmon was in really bad shape or whatever Centres did in such a case.

"Does your Pikachu need healing, too, sir?" inquired the nurse. Sparky nodded and jumped onto the counter. The nurse smiled. "It'll just be a minute, then."

Mark nodded. The nurse took Sparky to the back, leaving the trainer alone. He tapped on the desk impatiently. Being indoors drove him crazy. He needed to be outside with no walls, no roof and fresh air. Oh well; he could suck it up. After all, it was his own fault he was so claustrophobic now.

A few minutes later, Sparky leapt out from the back room and back onto his place on Mark's shoulder. The nurse was right behind him, a worried look on her face and Mew in her arms.

"Did you find out what's wrong with him?" Mark asked.

"He's asleep." said the nurse. "And locked in a terrible nightmare, it seems. But I can't wake him up! None of the medicines are working…"

"What? Why?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea. But I don't think there's anything I can do."

"So what's going to happen to him?" Even Sparky looked concerned at this point.

"Well, I could keep him here and hope for the best… But I don't think that'll do any good." It was obvious the nurse wasn't sure what to do. Mark frowned down at Mew and wondered what the legendary had been through.

Sparky jumped onto the counter and poked Mew with a paw. When nothing happened, the Pikachu paused for a moment before shocking the pink cat with a small burst of electricity.

"Sparky!" Mark cried as the nurse gasped in alarm.

It worked. Mew's eyes shot open and he stopped writhing. A moment later, he had leapt into the air and was frantically looking around.

"Where am I?!" he demanded, darting around the Pokèmon Centre. Everyone in the building looked on with wide eyes. "Where did he go?! What happened?!"

"Mew! Please calm down!" the nurse tried. Mew stopped his aimless flying at the sound of her voice and glided over to her, looking at her closely.

"You are Nurse Joy," he said slowly. She nodded. Mew frowned and looked around. "This is a Pokèmon Centre."

"You're in Lilycove," said Mark, trying to be helpful.

Mew's eyes narrowed. "I see." He turned to Mark. "You found me, did you not?"

Mark was surprised by this. "Y-yeah, but-"

"How did I know? It doesn't matter. Did you see a Pokèmon when you found me? A dark Pokèmon? Kinda ghost-like?"

"No…"

Mew let out a cry of frustration. "No! I have to find him! This isn't good!"

"Find who?" asked the nurse. Mew hesitated, a pained look crossing his features.

"Darkrai."


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"Darkrai?" Mark repeated. Mew rested on the counter and nodded slowly.

"Yes. I was supposed to catch him, but, argh!" The Pokèmon clutched his head in frustration. "His element is stronger than mine."

"Uh, who's Darkrai?" asked the trainer, raising his eyebrows. Sparky nodded, also clueless as to who Mew was talking about. The pink cat looked at them strangely, then cocked his head to the side.

"That's right, this is Hoenn. You don't hear the same stories in this part of the world." Mew sighed, folding his little arms across his chest. "But I don't have time to be explaining things. I've got to find Darkrai."

"Are you hurt at all?" inquired the nurse.

"Only my pride." replied Mew. He floated in the air again. "Thanks for waking me up. I'll repay you later."

That said, the pokèmon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A few seconds passed. Nothing happened. Mew frowned. A minute passed. His eyes shot open in alarm.

"No, no, no!" he cried, sounding frantic. "Argh, no, this can't be-"

He cut himself off and inhaled again. Once again, whatever he was trying to do wasn't working. Panic crossed his blue eyes. "No! Why can't I teleport?! What's wrong?!"

The pink cat forced himself to calm down, narrowing his eyes. Now he tried holding his arms out in front of him as if preparing an energy attack. Still nothing happened. He scowled and glared down at his paws.

"Aura's gone, too."

"What's wrong?" Mark asked, confused. Mew turned to him with a frown.

"My powers are gone." he said with a sigh. "Darkrai really must be at full strength again if he was able to disable my abilities…"

The pokèmon paused, then looked at Mark more closely. "Mark Anthony Cooper, age… twenty-five. Right?"

Mark and Sparky exchanged a surprised glance before turning back to Mew. "Y-yeah, that's me. But how did you know all that?"

"I know everything." Mew replied. "Or, at least, I did. With my powers gone I can only seem to remember simple things. Well, whatever, that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I need help."

"My help?" More surprise. Mew nodded.

"You brought me here, so I think I can trust you. I don't have time to go looking for 'chosen ones'. I need to find Darkrai _now._"

"But…"

"He used to be an Aqua," said the nurse, her disapproval finally showing itself. Mark winced. He hated being reminded of his past, especially by people who shouldn't know him at all. Criminals earned no privacy.

Mew, however, did not seem swayed. He stared down at Mark for a minute, looking neither worried nor pleased. Then, he smiled.

"An Aqua, huh? Maybe that could come in handy. So, will you help me?"

Sparky nudged Mark with his tail and cast his trainer a serious look. The man shrugged, unsure of what to do. His pikachu looked from Mark to Mew and back, then nodded. He wanted to help. That was enough for Mark.

Besides, why in the name of all things legendary would he pass up an opportunity to redeem himself?

"Okay, we'll help you. Just tell us what to do."

Mew grinned excitedly, gliding down and landing on Mark's free shoulder. Mark blinked in surprise while Sparky giggled. The pink pokèmon made himself comfortable, and then suddenly a white light enveloped him. An instant later, a treecko had taken his place.

"Oh, good. I can still use my natural move set," said Mew, sounding relieved. "That'll make things easier."

"Hey, if you can transform, can you turn into something that can walk on its own? My shoulders are already aching." Mark complained. Mew shot him a glare, but jumped onto the ground to transform into an electrike.

"Happy? Good. Let's go." That said, Mew turned heel and leapt toward the exit. Mark hurried after him.

Once outside, the trainer felt a rush of relief. The open space and fresh air made him feel more coherent. It also brought a wave of realization down upon him. He had just met Mew, and was now helping the legendary look for what sounded like a very dangerous pokèmon. How had he ended up in this situation? It seemed like the kind of thing that only happened in stories, to special people. Mark wasn't special at all; he was just a normal guy who had screwed up a lot.

Sparky shot him a look, telling him that he was being fretful again. The pikachu narrowed his eyes and frowned. Exhaling heavily, Mark took the hint and forced the unhappy thoughts aside.

_No reason to get worked up about the past,_ he reminded himself for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day.

"So, I'll tell you right now that I don't have a plan." Mew called back to them. "I was hoping on using my Aura to find Darkrai, but without it everyone feels exactly the same. He has the power to shape-shift into just about anything now, so he could be anywhere."

"Well, that certainly makes things a whole lot easier." Mark replied, tone dripping with sarcasm.

"He's got a loud of pride, though, so I would assume he'd try and stand out a little. That's what I'm hoping, anyway." The pokèmon shrugged. "Either that, or he'll be causing trouble, making him even more conspicuous."

"So, who is this guy, anyway? As long as we're just walking around aimlessly you might as well tell us."

Mew looked over his shoulder at the trainer and pikachu, then shrugged again. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Now that I've dragged you into this, it wouldn't be fair not to tell you what you're up against."

"It would certainly be kind of you if you did."

"Well, I'll start by telling you what the people in Sinnoh know him as. According to them, Darkrai is an evil spirit who haunts the dreams of people and pokèmon. 'The Nightmare Pokèmon', he's called. He feeds off of dreams, and those he drags into his nightmares can only be awaken by Cresselia, or something of that sort. Fortunately for me, legends have a bit more resistance…

"Anyway, though Darkrai is fond of causing nightmares, that's only part of who he is. He is- wait, you know about Arceus, right?"

"I know some nonsense about him creating the entire world." said Mark, waving a hand vaguely.

"Her," Mew corrected.

"Her?"

"Yes. But that's story for another day. Anyway, Arceus created the world. If you don't believe it- and by your statement I'll assume you don't- start. Without Arceus, nothing would exist. So, as I was saying, Darkrai is more or less Arceus' equivalent, but also her opposite."

"He's what?"

"Well, I guess the best way to put it is like this: if Arceus is God, Darkrai is Satan."

"…Huh?"

Mew whined in frustration. "Hoenn doesn't hear _any _stories about the creation of the world, does it? I'll just tell you, then.

"Before Arceus created anything else, meaning before anything besides her existed, she decided to test her powers and see what she could create. So, she created a duplicate of herself, with all of her powers.

"This being was who is now Darkrai. He helped her create everything else. Before long, they had created a perfect world. Pokèmon and humans had been made, as well as all of the legendaries to help maintain all of nature's properties.

"But Darkrai wasn't satisfied. He found the world they had crafted dull. The perfection of it all bored him. So, he consulted Arceus. Using his wit, he convinced her that it would make the world better if life was challenging. If bad things happened. He told her that it would make the creatures of the world stronger, and more worthy of life. So, she let him create flaws for living things to overcome. He created evil for them to defy.

"And so the world became pretty much what it is today. There were good things and bad things, nice people and evil people, etcetera, etcetera; blah, blah, blah…

"And then Darkrai tried something else. He was so proud of what the world had become, and he started to grow envious of those living in it. So, he used his powers to create a physical form and placed himself onto the planet. That's how he became known as a pokèmon; he crafted this dark form to represent one.

"Anyway, Darkrai was a physical being now. He started to be an active part of the physical world. He started _interfering._"

"And that's a bad thing?" asked Mark. He had tried to hold back his comments until Mew finished, but his head was starting to hurt from all of this information he was now processing.

"Yes," said Mew. "You see, Arceus had made the world for mortals. As a god, it was not Darkrai's place to interact with the life here. It was the job of us legendaries to keep things in order, so we alone were the high beings allowed to have mortal lives. But Darkrai wanted his own life, so he strayed from Arceus' will.

"And that's not all; I already told you that Darkrai is known in Sinnoh as the Nightmare Pokèmon because he torments people in their sleep. That's not all he's done. He's manipulated people, through dreams and other methods, into doing the wrong thing. He likes to convince people to take the wrong path in life and stray from Arceus' good image.

"It took Arceus a while to admit that Darkrai had turned into what he had created- evil. But when she finally did, she made the decision to punish Darkrai by stripping him of his powers and locking him away in a different realm.

"But, even without powers, Darkrai was too strong to be held. After all, he is a god. It was only recently that he broke out of his prison, stole back his powers and fled back to this world. I don't know how he managed it, but he did. I was sent to capture him, but he was too strong for me… After he defeated me, you found me, and here we are."

Mark and Sparky looked at each other, then back at Mew. Neither of them knew what to make of this. All that had been said pretty much threw their beliefs into the air. Good? Evil? Gods? It was a lot to take in. Perhaps if they had been born in Sinnoh it would have been easier to accept, but being simple children of Hoenn… The most they had heard about was silly stories about elementals that adults told their kids. Sure, the legendaries _existed_, but to think that they actually had so much power…

"That's _insane,_" Mark finally voiced his thoughts. Sparky nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's true. Whether you believe it or not, that's Darkrai's story, and that's why I'm here." said Mew, frowning back at them.

"Well, if Darkrai's so powerful… How are we going to stop him? If you don't have powers, and I'm just some trainer…"

"Even Darkrai isn't perfect. Powerful, cunning, but not perfect. I'll think of something. We've just got to find him first…" The legendary glanced about him as if expecting to see Darkrai lounging around nearby. "I don't think he would have gone too far from here. He prefers more physical ways of travel to teleportation."

"But if he can shape-shift, he could be _anything._" Mark pointed out, starting to loose hope already.

"It'll be easier than it sounds. Like I said, he's got a load of pride."

The three continued to walk through the city, watching out for suspicious persons or activity. Despite his confident tone, Mew didn't seem to have much hope for finding their quarry, either. Lilycove was a big city. The region was a hundred times bigger. Darkrai could be anywhere in the _world. _

It was growing dark when they finally came to a stop where they had started, in front of the Pokèmon Centre. They were tired, hungry and not having any luck.

"This is terrible!" exclaimed Mew. He had been growing more and more frantic as the day progressed. "I thought it would be easy… but without powers… If I don't find him soon… How could I be so _stupid?_ Oh, I hope Arceus knows what's happening and sends someone stronger than me to help out!"

"Well, we can try again in the morning," Mark suggested, exhausted but trying to be optimistic for Mew's sake.

"Pika," agreed Sparky.

"But what are we supposed to _do?_" Mew cried. "He could be anywhere! There's no way we can find him! He's been loose for a whole day now…"

"No matter what, we all need to sleep. Maybe we'll be able to think of something once we get some energy back."

Mew frowned miserably, but nodded. Mark put on a reassuring smile and walked into the Centre. A few minutes later, he had rented a room for the night and herded Sparky and Mew into one of the little spaces the Centre kept for travellers. It wasn't much- it never was- but the bed was very comfortable. It felt good for Mark to stretch out across the mattress.

Transforming back into his original shape, Mew lay down on a chair and stared at the ground. Sparky jumped up beside him and curled up, fidgeting a little to get comfortable before settling down to sleep.

"Hey, Mark…" Mew began after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah?"

"I told you a story. Now you tell me one."

"What?" Mark sat up and looked down at Mew with a frown.

"The nurse said that you used to be an Aqua."

"Yeah, so?"

"Why?"

"Why does anyone pick up crime? Because they're idiots." Mark replied, lying back down and turning his back to Mew. Mew wasn't done yet, though, and floated over to the bed.

"No. You have a different reason, don't you? I'm sure you do. What is it?"

Mark sighed. "I was trying to help my little brother."

"By being in a gang? I'm confused."

"Magma's been holding him… er, I guess captive is the best word for it. I joined Aqua because I thought it would be the best way to save him from Magma… but I was wrong. Now he's missing." the man explained quietly.

"Oh…"

"Yeah. It sucks."

"Well… what happened that you aren't an Aqua anymore? Surely sticking with them would make finding your brother easier, especially if Magma had something to do with it." Mew suggested.

"I wish things had been that easy. James disappeared _after_ I gave up Aqua. I didn't have much of a choice either way."

"Why? What happened?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, you owe me a long story."

Sighing again, Mark rolled over, propped himself up on an elbow and stared down at Mew. The pink cat met his gaze and put on a stubborn face. He looked determined to get a tale out of the trainer.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But just remember that you asked to hear it."


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

"You're slow, Cooper! Get moving!"

"Like you're moving any faster!"

Mark and Heather glared at each other before turning their eyes back to the path. Or, rather, lack of path. The road was covered in undergrowth and all sorts of other obstacles that slowed them down. Sparky, being much smaller than the humans, had gotten ahead and now waited for them on the other side of a tangle of vines. Mark hacked the plants aside with his knife, but was having difficulty; a machete would do more good than the little shank he used as a weapon. Heather, of course, was complaining more than helping.

"This is why I hate being inland. On the coast, there are no huge forests that you can get caught in, or stupid pokèmon that jump out of _nowhere_ and try to hurt me…" the woman was whining.

"Why don't you help, then? Or at least get your pokèmon to do something useful." Mark suggested irritably.

"Ace is a _vaporeon_, what good would she be in a _forest?_"

Grumbling to himself, Mark slashed at the last bit of vines and broke into a clearer area. Sparky looked up at his tiring trainer before running ahead again, leaving the humans behind.

"Slow down, Sparks!" Mark called, summoning the energy to run after his pikachu.

"Hey! Wait for me!" cried Heather, stumbling along behind.

A few minutes later, the group had finally arrived at their destination: Fortree City. Heather slumped down under the shade of a tree house to rest with Sparky right beside her, but Mark couldn't sit down just yet. He turned his head left and right, searching for what he had come here for.

"Why you insist on travelling to such ridiculous places just to talk to people is beyond me." Heather groaned. Well trained in ignoring his partner, Mark paid her no mind and walked a little further into the city. "I'm surprised Archie doesn't take you out for treason, or something. I mean, you're always meeting with the _enemy. _Discussing our matters with the _enemy._"

"Shut up, will you?" Mark snapped. He didn't feel like putting up with Heather's point of view today. Today was supposed to be a good day. No whiney chick was going to ruin it for him.

_Come on, where are you?_

"Mark!"

A grin spread across the man's face as the voice reached his ears. He turned and found a slightly taller young man standing in the shadows, a worried expression upon his countenance and exhaustion in his dark blue eyes. The man sported a red and black outfit; a muscle shirt, long pants and boots with a jacket hanging over his shoulder. Team Magma's uniform.

"Jamie! There you are!" Mark exclaimed, hurrying over to his little brother. "You got taller again; there's no way you're only eighteen."

James put on a small smile. "Caught up with you, didn't I? And passed you by. You must've got Mom's genes."

"And you're a lot stronger, too," commented the older Cooper, taking in James' large muscles. Worry tainted his voice. "How hard are they working you? They'll kill you at this rate, I swear…"

"What are you, his mom?" Heather called from her seat.

"Hi, Heather." said James half-heartedly. He cared as much for the girl as Mark did. Even so, she had never failed to accompany Mark on a trip to meet James, so she couldn't be all bad. Maybe slightly annoying, but definitely not bad.

"So, you had something to tell me?" asked Mark. James frowned, appearing uncomfortable again. This didn't surprise Mark. After all, James was more or less working as a spy for Team Aqua. If Magma found out, he would be dead. So far it had been working out, though. Ever since Mark had run away nearly ten years ago, James had been supplying his big brother with information. Or, at the very least, as much information as a pawn could gather.

"They're planning an attack for tomorrow. Everyone's talking about it." the youngest Cooper began, ruffling his fluffy brown hair nervously.

"Slateport or Lilycove?" Mark inquired, knowing that James was talking about an attack on one of Team Aqua's bases.

"Definitely Lilycove."

"Land or sea?"

"Um…" James scratched his chin as he remembered. "They have a few teams on Mossdeep right now, and a few more in the cavern by Sootopolis. So I would assume by sea, but I'm not one hundred percent sure."

"A guess is better than nothing. Anything else?"

James shook his head. "That's all I heard. Just make sure everyone's guard is up, okay? This… This might be your chance to take down Magma once and for all. You just have to get everyone in Aqua prepared."

Mark nodded and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'd go up against _Rayquaza _to get you out of this hell."

"I'm sorry to ruin the touchiness, but, like, what kind of attack is this going to be?" Heather demanded, approaching the men with Sparky on her shoulder and looking just as concerned. The graveness on James' expression remained.

"Do you remember Mount Chimney?"

Both Aquas nodded. None of them could forget the bloody battle that had occurred atop Mount Chimney a few years back between the two gangs. The fight had been pulled apart by a couple of young, strong-willed trainers, so neither Aqua nor Magma won that day. A good thing, too; Magma greatly outnumbered Aqua. The latter would have lost for sure if the battle were to have continued.

"It's supposed to be like that, but more of an ambush, I think. There's going to be a lot of people and a lot of pokèmon, that's for sure. But maybe if they loose their element of surprise…" James trailed off with a shrug.

"Awesome. Great work, Jamie." Mark grinned. "We'll take 'em out, don't you worry."

"And if we don't, we'll just keep trying until we do, like always. I mean, they have to give up eventually, right?" Heather offered. "Like, that is, unless we go down first. But we're getting stronger, and _I _will most certainly not be defeated by a bunch of Magma losers."

"That's right. Everything will be right eventually."

James didn't look all too convinced, but he nodded. Then, frowning anxiously, he stepped away from the other two and nervously looked around.

"Anyway, it was really great seeing you, Mark, but I gotta go. If they find me with you…"

Mark understood. Meeting his brother's gaze, he put on a determined face.

"Don't get hurt before I can save you," he said. James forced another smile.

"You be careful, too." That said, the younger brother turned and hurried into the city, keeping close to the trees so that he would be harder to see by the population up in the branches. Mark watched him go, an ache tugging at his chest. He wished he could just take James and run somewhere safe, but it was too dangerous. Magma was not fond of losing their pawns.

Suddenly, Sparky leapt onto Mark's head and gave the man a harmless little shock to pull him out of his thoughts. Mark winced and swore under his breath as the jolt tickled his nerves. His pikachu jumped down to the man's shoulder and frowned disapprovingly, as if telling Mark to get his head out of the clouds.

"Sparky's right. We need to start heading back so we can tell everyone about the attack." said Heather, already walking back the way they came.

"Don't act like you can understand exactly what he's saying." Mark sighed, patting his pokèmon on the head before following his human partner back into the forest.

"I probably understand him better than you. He said 'stop standing around like an idiot so we can, like, get back to Lilycove already.'"

Mark and Sparky rolled their eyes in unison, but neither bothered to argue with the woman.

---

"An _ambush?_"

It had been an hour or so since Mark and Heather made it back to Aqua's headquarters off the coast of Lilycove City. Mark had just finished explaining everything James had told him to one of his best friends in the gang, a young girl named Jenna Elk.

"Magma's getting pretty damn cocky, thinking they can sneak up on us out here." Jenna spat, her voice filled with venom. She was only sixteen years old, but her hatred of Team Magma had driven her to join up with Aqua three years ago. A tough trainer with an irritable personality and a seemingly unbreakable spirit, nobody cared to question Jenna's motives and instead embraced her as one of the strongest members on the team.

"I'm sure they have some sort of clever plan. Of course they'll know we'd be able to see them if they came from sea." Mark pointed out. Jenna shrugged and took a few steps along the shoreline of the beach outside the base.

"Did you tell the boss yet?" she asked, pushing her blonde bangs from her face as the wind played with her hair.

"Heather's telling him now."

The girl nodded slowly. "Dragonfire and I could watch out for them from the sky," she said, referring to her charizard. "Though I suppose it might be more productive to just send a few lookout birds up there… Some water pokèmon would do good to patrol the ocean. Magma's stolen submarines before, so I wouldn't put it past them to try and come from underwater."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Mark agreed.

"Edward's already off training with Sparky somewhere, though, otherwise I'd send him out now... Why that floatzel enjoys being electrocuted so much is beyond me." Sighing, Jenna sat down on a rock and stared out at the ocean. "You said it's going to be a big army, right?"

"That's what I heard." The man was careful to make sure he didn't mention having gotten any information from James. Mark's brother or not, Jenna downright despised anything having to do with Magma. If she knew Mark had been talking to James at all, she would probably call him out for treachery, just as Heather had suggested earlier that day.

"In that case, we won't be able to take them head on." Jenna narrowed her green eyes, obviously concentrating. This was another reason Aqua kept her around; despite her age, she was an excellent strategist.

"What's on your mind, kid?" Mark questioned, taking a seat beside her. She didn't answer right away.

"…If we stay here, at the base, we're on the defensive. That's bad for us, because as much as we have the elemental advantage, we lack numbers. They'll overpower us…" Pausing, she stood and walked toward the water, the tips of her boots touching the tide. Lilycove was just within sight, and for a moment the girl stared at the city, chewing her lip. "So we need to be on the offensive."

Jenna turned away from the ocean and walked past Mark, toward the other side of the island. The man watched her, almost able to see the cogs turning in her head. If she hadn't come to Aqua, Mark was sure she would have been able to get very far in life. Unfortunately, revenge was more important to her than success.

"There's no way they'd be able to come through Lilycove. They'd be delayed by the police and all the heroic trainers who happen to be hanging out. If they're really coming with an army, they'd come by sea, like you said." Jenna continued. "Probably mostly from Mossdeep, because it's closer than their base in Sootopolis, but it doesn't matter. Either way, they're coming to attack this island."

"So I'm assuming you have an idea?" Mark pressed.

"Yeah." Again, she didn't elaborate at first. Instead, she walked back toward Lilycove and regarded it with a contemplative countenance. A minute passed. A smile spread across her lips. "When Magma attacks, we won't be on the island."

"What?"

"We know Lilycove from top to bottom. We could easily hide the team in the city without being detected. Magma will go after the base, but nobody will be there when they start storming. We'll have to be quick, but…" She paused once more, eyes shifting back and forth as though she were reading directions only she could see. "If we're quick, we'll be able to ambush _them_ while they're looking for us on the island.

"Of course, they'll be suspicious if no one's there when they arrive. We'll have to leave a few guys here to act as guards, so that Magma thinks there are people in the base. While they're distracted with that, the rest of us can use the element of surprise to attack them and push them into the base, where we can easily take them out.

"If all goes well, we'll be able to take a great deal of them before they even realize what's going on. Then, the rest of them should be easier to take care of."

The girl turned to Mark as she finished, looking for his opinion.

"That sounds brilliant," the man commented. "How do you come up with these things, Jen?"

"It's not that hard," she replied with a shrug. "You just gotta think things through a bit. Look at the situation from all angles."

"Well, simple or not, you could be a life-saver." Mark told her, jumping to his feet. "Come on; let's go tell the others your plan."

He started to head inside, but Jenna didn't move. She was staring out to Lilycove again, a distant look in her eyes. Mark frowned and walked over to her. Standing next to her was odd; she was more than half a foot shorter than him, and overall a lot smaller. It was weird to think about how much loathing was contained in that tiny body of hers, but Mark could practically feel the emotion coming off of her in waves.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"We're going to win this time." Jenna declared after a moment, eyes focusing and acquiring a determined fire. Her fists clenched at her side.

"I hope so. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to put up a fight."

"No. _We're going to win this time,_" the girl repeated, tone dangerous. She glanced up at Mark, her dark gaze more like a glare. "There is no 'hope'. It's going to happen. I'm not going to let them get away this time. I'm going to destroy them."

Her switch to singular pronouns made Mark feel a bit uneasy. This girl craved blood, and she was set on drawing it, even if she had to do it herself. This lust had always been something about Jenna that unsettled Mark. Girls weren't supposed to get so bloodthirsty. Especially such young girls.

Jenna apparently sensed Mark's discomfort, as she exhaled softly and turned her sight to the ground. A deep frown had disturbed her countenance now, her brow furrowing.

"They killed my parents, Mark." she said simply. "An eye for an eye, right?"

With that, she cast one last look at her hometown before turning heel and strutting toward the base. Mark watched her for a minute before following. Then, letting out a deep breath just as she had, he focused on the matter at hand.

He had a score to settle, just like Jenna.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

It was a cold and windy morning. Muttering, Mark hugged his jacket to him and pulled his knees closer to his chest. Beside him, Jenna was sitting cross-legged and unmoving, her expression hidden by the shadow the hood of her coat cast over her face. Sparky was in his pokèball, staying nice, warm and comfortable so he would be in top condition when he was needed.

They were waiting for a signal. A great deal of Aquas had snuck over to Lilycove during the night, just as Jenna had suggested, while a decoy group guarded the base. Everyone who had been sent to Lilycove was grouped into pairs and threes, and each group had been given a radio; as soon as the guards spotted Team Magma, the teams on Lilycove would be alerted. Then, they would begin the counter-ambush.

It seemed like a good idea. Sure, Mark wished Jenna had come up with something warmer, but he was certain the plan would work. This was Aqua's home turf. With the help of the element of surprise, they would be able to win.

"You didn't hear anything about _when_ the attack would be?" Jenna asked suddenly, standing and peering around the trees they were hiding behind. She couldn't see the ocean from here, or much of anything else, for that matter.

"Only that it would be today."

Swearing impatiently, Jenna sat back down. Now it was more apparent that she was sick of waiting. Mark could see her trembling, and not from the cold. He didn't blame her for being so edgy; the worst part of battles was the waiting.

More time passed. Vaguely Mark wished he had brought a watch, but then he figured that knowing the time would only make the wait seem longer. Jenna's anxiety was driving him crazy. Didn't she know how to keep her emotions to herself? How could anyone feel so strongly about _anything_?

Then, without warning, everything stopped. Or, at least, that's what it felt like. Movement ceased. Sound silenced. Mark started to look around to see what was wrong, and then-

_Boom!_

There was no time to react. Before Mark could even register what had happened, he had been pushed back and thrown onto his side like a rag doll. Jenna landed beside him with a thud, but was on her feet again in the next instant.

"What was that?!" she cried. She paused for a second, then swore. "Dammit, no…"

"What is it?" Mark demanded, stumbling as he stood. He hadn't broken any bones, as far as he could tell. That was good.

"That was an explosion." Jenna replied. "Nearby."

"What?!"

"Magma's in Lilycove," she declared simply before running off.

"Wait! Jen, hold on!" Mark called, chasing after her. As soon as he was clear of the trees he could see what Jenna was talking about. Flames had erupted from one of the buildings near the edge of the city, and the buildings next to it looked as though something had punched them in. He and Jenna must have felt the shockwave. "Why are they attacking the city?!"

"Why do you think?!" Jenna shouted back as she ripped a pokèball from her belt. She smashed the button on the sphere, and a second later a houndoom had formed and was running beside her. "I'm going to find out where they're _really _coming from and come back to kill you for getting the wrong information later!"

Before Mark could respond, the girl sped up and turned down a side street with her houndoom at her heels, vanishing from sight.

_How could Magma have known to come here?!_

Mark briefly considered bringing Sparky out of his pokèball, but decided against it. If Magma was using explosives it would be too dangerous, especially for a pokèmon as small as a pikachu. Hell, it was too dangerous for _humans. _The man was definitely bruised- at the very least- from that shockwave. He couldn't imagine why the enemy would be so violent in the city, where innocents could get hurt… or killed.

Then again, he wouldn't put such levels of madness past Magma, either. Scowling to himself, Mark continued down the street, looking for any sign of a battle. He hadn't heard anything since the explosion. Anxiously he wondered where his team mates were. Had they run back to the base? Or were they looking for Magma elsewhere, like Jenna?

All of a sudden, something slammed into Mark and slammed him into the pavement. He heard his head crack as it connected with the ground, but he didn't have much time to register the pain before a weight dropped onto his chest and a hand grabbed his throat.

"Hey, what d'ya know, it's the runaway Cooper!" laughed a sinister voice. Looming over Mark was a smirking, dark-skinned man dressed in one of Magma's uniforms.

"What d'ya know, it's Bakei," Mark snarled, his voice weak from lack of air. He struggled to get free of the man's grasp, but the Magma was too heavy to be so easily discouraged.

"Oh, you remember me, Cooper? That's good," said Bakei. As he spoke, a malicious-looking haunter appeared beside his head. "Then you'll remember how much I hate traitors!"

"I'm not a trai- ack!" Mark was cut off as Bakei applied more pressure to his throat, completely cutting off his supply of oxygen. Choking, Mark scrabbled at the other man's hands, trying to pull them away from his neck.

"Maybe you don't consider yourself one, but how about your dear little brother?"

Mark's eyes widened at this, and frantically he tried harder to escape.

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about, do you?" The Magma snickered, as did the haunter. "Did you really think no one would notice him disappearing just before a big attack? It was a bit obvious, especially since he's done it a couple of times. That's why we decided to play a little trick on him."

This information only made Mark more fearful and desperate to get free. He tugged at Bakei's hands, and with a laugh the Magma released the Aqua's throat.

"Does it all make sense now? We knew if we told him our plan he would come running straight to you and you would tell Aqua all about it. From there it was just a matter of anticipating what you would do with this information. Looks like we were right."

"What are you going to do to him?!" Mark demanded, his worry unintentionally clear in his tone. Bakei cackled.

"Does it matter? I'm going to do the same to you." He looked up at his haunter. "Kill him."

_Kill?! _There was no way Mark was going to let himself get killed! Especially if Magma planned on killing James, too! What if they had already killed him?! Either way, he had to do something! Using his hands for leverage, the man abruptly pushed himself from the ground. This knocked Bakei off balance and sent him tumbling onto his side, freeing Mark.

The battle wasn't won yet, though. As soon as Mark was up, the haunter was on him, slashing with a shadowy claw. Mark jumped out of the way… and almost wished he hadn't. The crack in his skull had done some damage, and though he wasn't bleeding much he was definitely dizzy. The haunter took advantage of the Aqua's problem and shot a blast of dark energy at him. The dark pulse struck Mark dead in the chest and blew him into a lamppost. The impact put a small dent in the post, and Mark was sure it had done the same with some of his bones.

Not that he cared at the moment. Finding James was more important. Forcing himself to move despite the pain he was feeling throughout his body, Mark grabbed a pokèball from the inside of his jacket and released the creature from within. Sparky, sensing the danger from the moment his form materialized, jumped straight into action and discharged a bolt of electricity at the haunter, whom reacted too slowly and was promptly electrocuted.

"Good job, Sparks!" cried Mark, struggling to his feet. The haunter wasn't yet finished, however, and descended upon the pikachu with fists drawn back. Sparky leapt out of the way just as the ghost tried to deck him with a powerful shadow punch. Not missing a beat, the electric mouse responded by whipping its tail around and whacking the haunter over the head with a steel-enhanced strike. The iron tail made contact, but the haunter quickly grabbed a hold of Sparky's extended appendage.

The pikachu squealed as his opponent pulled him close and ran its tongue across his stomach. The lick left Sparky looking horribly violated and twitching, and he didn't move even as the haunter floated away with a cackle.

"Sparky! Are you okay?" Mark called, concerned.

"Ha! Looks like your stupid rat's paralyzed!" said Bakei with a smug grin. "You were never much of a battler, Cooper. Your brother's so much better. Too bad we have to get rid of the dirty little backstabber."

_We have to get rid…_ That wasn't past tense. James was still alive! Right?! Mark _definitely _had to survive this encounter, now that he was almost completely sure that his little brother wasn't dead. But his only pokèmon was already down… Swearing, Mark recalled Sparky to his pokèball and instead pulled out his emergency knife. This was certainly an emergency.

"Oh, look, the little brat's got a blade." Bakei didn't look very intimidated. Neither did the haunter, who disappeared for a second before reappearing behind Mark. The Aqua started to turn, but the ghost grabbed him by the shoulders and dug its claws into his flesh.

"How about we show _you _what it's like to be electrocuted?" suggested Bakei, his smirk widening. Mark was about to question him when the haunter released an enormous amount of electricity into the man's body, making him jerk violently. He dropped his knife and, as soon as the haunter released him and flew away, he joined the weapon on the ground. He was in such pain, he couldn't move.

Bakei cackled again and started walking toward the fallen Aqua. "How easy! I'm glad you ran away and caused all this trouble; having the chance to finish off a weakling like you is too great an opportunity!"

The Magma bent over to pick up Mark's knife and twirled the blade in his hands. Above him, the haunter eagerly circled, blood lust in its eyes. Bakei wore a similar expression as he drew the knife back to plunge it into Mark's back.

"Back off!" a new voice shrieked, causing Bakei to look up in surprise. As soon as he did, he was met by a snarling vaporeon, who pinned him to the ground without difficulty. In the next instant, a powerful stream of water slammed into the haunter, smacking it into the pavement as well. A marill then appeared, flipping through the air before smashing a water-powered tail into the ghost.

Mark watched this through darkened vision, hardly able to register what was happening. Before he could even begin to become coherent, he was less than gently pulled to his feet and held steady by someone just out of his line of sight.

"What are you trying to do, Cooper? Are you _trying _to, like, give me a heart attack?!"

Oh. Mark definitely recognized that voice.

"You're lucky Ace and Menchi heard what was happening!" snapped Heather irritably, referring to her pokèmon, who were grappling with Bakei and the haunter.

"Thanks for helping out," said Mark, the pain in his limbs finally beginning to ebb away. He found that he could move properly now, and his vision was returning.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! What's going on?! Jamie lied to us!" exclaimed the woman, sounding absolutely incredulous.

"He didn't lie, he was tricked! And now he's in trouble!" Mark explained quickly, pulling away from Heather. He stumbled a little before reclaiming his balance. "I have to find him!"

"What if he's not here?" said Heather, voicing Mark's inner fears. The man shook his head.

"Then I'll search the entire region for him! Heather, they're going to _kill him!_"

Even Heather seemed to understand this. Her face suddenly grim, she nodded and stepped out of his way. "Go. I'll take care of this loser."

"Thanks." With that, Mark sped off. Every step was like shoving a knife into his legs, but with each yard the effects of the electricity waned a little more. After what seemed like an eternity he was finally back to full speed and racing through the city.

It was as he ran he noticed how much destruction had taken place while he was distracted. Several buildings had caught fire; several others had been ripped apart by what he assumed had been explosions. Mark's eyes widened. Magma had actually gone so far as to devastate a _city! _A city with people in it! Innocent people! Just to defeat Aqua?! This was insane!

Terrified, the man scanned everything within his view for his little brother. Maybe they had already killed him while Mark was dealing with Bakei. Maybe he wasn't even here.

All around him, a battle was being fought. Aqua versus Magma. There were a lot more Magmas. It wasn't just pokèmon battles going on, either; Mark was seeing fist fights, knife fights, _blood. _There was a lot of blood. Bodies, too. Mark had been expecting death from this battle. After all, Magma was set on defeating their enemy. But he hadn't been prepared to see this much.

He forced indifference upon himself. He couldn't let himself get distracted. James had to be here somewhere, and he was in danger.

That's when he heard something familiar. A voice. Sliding to a stop, Mark turned and bolted in the direction of the sound.

Just on the other end of the street, just within sight… An ecstatic grin spread across Mark's features. There! James was backed against a building, watching the ruin with horror written all over his face. Standing protectively on either side of him were his pokèmon, a quilava and an umbreon. He looked so scared… Mark pushed himself, adding as much speed to his stride as he could manage.

"_James!_" he shouted. James tore his gaze away from the burning city, more terror darkening his countenance as his eyes fell on his older brother. The younger Cooper took a step back, his pokèmon following him and keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"Mark! I'm so sorry!" cried James. "I didn't know! They didn't tell me…!"

"You're safe, that's all that matters!" Mark replied. Only a few more yards to go… "We've got to get out of here!"

His brother opened his mouth to answer, but before he could get any words out his face fell and he backed up even more. Mark, confused by this, slowed down and frowned.

He had barely started to ask James what his problem was when his eardrums were blown out by a deafening roar and he was met with an excruciating wave of heat. A split second later, he was skidding across the ground, completely oblivious to what had just hit him. Then, the agony hit.

The last thing he heard before diving into unconsciousness was James screaming his name.


End file.
